Army to Address Lack of Black Officers in Main Combat Units

The military is concerned that there are not enough black officers leading the Army's major combat units, according to USA Today.

The Army has less than 10 percent of active duty officers who are black compared with 18 percent of its enlisted men.

High-ranking Army superiors and sociologists are worried that a lack of black officers leading its main infantry, armor and artillery battalions and brigades will have a detrimental effect on minorities and lead to fewer black officers in top posts.

"The issue exists — the leadership is aware of it," Brig. Gen. Ronald Lewis told USA Today on Thursday. "The leadership does have an action plan in place. And it's complicated."

And Col. Irving Smith, director of sociology at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told USA Today: "It certainly is a problem for several reasons.

"First we are a public institution. And as a public institution we certainly have more of a responsibility to our nation than a private company to reflect it. In order to maintain their trust and confidence, the people of America need to know that the Army is not only effective but representative of them."

According to the newspaper's research, there was not one single black commander among 25 brigades it studied in 2014. But it noted that next year there will be two black commanders of combat brigades.

"If you don't command at the [lieutenant colonel] level, you're not going to command at [the colonel level]," explained Army Col. Ron Clark, an African-American infantry officer who has commanded at platoon, company, battalion and brigade level. "If you don't command at the [colonel] level, you're not going to be a general officer."

The paper also said of the 238 West Point graduates commissioned to be infantry officers in 2012, only seven were black.

The Army plans to address the problem by enhanced recruiting and mentoring for minority officers, particularly in combat fields, and keeping an eye on their progress while encouraging white officers to mentor black officers.